Only two or three minutes later, Wu Tao had already heard a lot of useful information.
"In the Death Desert, few creatures can survive."
"The few creatures that can survive are all ferocious, no less powerful than high-level demonic beasts. Even cultivators at the Core Formation stage find it extremely dangerous to cross this desert alone."
...
Although Wu Tao was confident, he was not arrogant. He did not believe that he alone could cross the Death Desert, which made even Core Formation stage cultivators daunted.
"To cross the Death Desert, the journey is long and must be planned in advance..."
With a flash of sharp light in his eyes, Wu Tao pondered, "The best way to travel to the Death Desert is naturally to go with a large group, so that safety can be guaranteed!"
"The Death Desert spans hundreds of thousands of miles north to south, with seven or eight dangerous areas that must be bypassed."
"To travel comfortably and safely, the most convenient way is to take a unique desert boat. Of course, the journey will take one to several months..."
However, this desert boat is said to be possessed only by the Puppet Divine Crystal Sect, one of the dominant forces in Liangzhou and one of the Ten Great Orthodox Sects.
The desert boat is as large as a mountain and travels at incredible speed, making it a large-capacity magic treasure.
...
In desperation, Wu Tao, relying on his token jade pendant, found the mountain gate of the Puppet Divine Crystal Sect and Lan Yingxiang.
Upon seeing Wu Tao, Lan Yingxiang not only treated him cordially but also arranged for someone to reserve a seat for him on the next desert boat.
Of course, there were conditions. Wu Tao also owed Lan Yingxiang a favor, which would require him to help her once without compensation in the future.
Furthermore, the passage fee for the boat was eight hundred spirit stones, not a single one less.
Wu Tao nodded upon hearing this, indicating that he had no problem.
If there were no conditions and the help was free, Wu Tao, who was always cautious, would have been more suspicious, worrying that Lan Yingxiang might be plotting against him.
The so-called desert boat was actually a giant shuttle-shaped vessel.
The ship was over a hundred zhang long and more than ten zhang wide, entirely constructed from top-grade adamantine, worth an inch of spirit stone per inch.
Even a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage might not be able to leave a scratch on it with full effort. It was extremely hard and reliable, one of the greatest guarantees for traversing the Great Death Sea.
The next day, a giant boat, carrying a towering structure and a group of people, set sail.
There were not many people on the boat, about three hundred, half of whom were disciples of the Puppet Divine Crystal Sect. The rest were mostly disciples from prominent families or cultivation sects, with few rogue cultivators, and almost all of them were at the Foundation Establishment stage or above.
The desert boat moved at an astonishingly fast speed. In just one day and one night, it had left Jinsha City far behind and appeared a thousand miles away.
The steward of the desert boat, Wang Ziyi, had dark skin, was tall and thin, with a kind smile tinged with a hint of arrogance.
As the steward of the desert boat, he was explaining the rules of travel to Wu Tao.
"Currently, there are two hundred and thirty passengers and sixty-five servants on my desert boat, and we should reach Liangzhou in about a month..."
"Why are there servants?"
Wu Tao was slightly surprised.
"Of course..."
"Not all cultivators are like you, passengers, traveling alone. When the disciples cultivated by those large immortal cultivation families travel, don't they always bring several servants?"
Wang Ziyi sneered, "Even more so for those who have wives and concubines accompanying them, pampered young masters who can only achieve their current realm by relying on their family background and vast resources. Yet they still dream of seeking the Dao and becoming immortals."
"Heh heh, dreaming..."
Wang Ziyi spoke with disdain, yet he seemed to look favorably upon Wu Tao, the ascetic cultivator.
Upon hearing this, Wu Tao said nothing more on the surface but inwardly sighed repeatedly with a wry smile.
It wasn't that he had no such thoughts, but rather that he was truly impoverished. Almost all of his spirit stones had been used to strengthen himself, leaving him no spare spirit stones to support servants.
After Wang Ziyi told Wu Tao several other rules that must be observed on the desert boat, he took his leave.
...
After dealing with Wang Ziyi, Wu Tao went directly to his room.
Indeed, the room was quite good!
Not only was the space large enough, but it was also equipped with everything a cultivator needed for cultivation, including a bed, a meditation cushion, a table and chairs, a tea table, and even an incense burner.
Moreover, the room did not feel stuffy, and the temperature was neither hot nor cold. However, to Wu Tao's surprise, in a corner of the room, there was a strange coniferous tree planted in a flowerpot.
This tree was very peculiar.
The entire tree was emerald green, as if crafted from fine jade, and all its leaves were needle-shaped.
Looking at the tree, Wu Tao showed curiosity.
Fortunately, there was a nameplate at the bottom of the flowerpot that detailed the origin of the tree.
This tree was indeed not a common item and was a specialty of a certain place in Liangzhou.
Not only was its appearance magnificent, but when placed in a bedroom, it could make the air fresh and pure, and the temperature moderate, making it a rare and excellent item.
Lying on the bed, feeling its softness, Wu Tao couldn't help but sink into it, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
"These eight hundred spirit stones were truly well spent..."
Speaking of which, over the years, I've had less time to relax and more time to be busy.
"These few days on the desert boat will be considered a vacation. I'll deal with the rest once we reach Liangzhou."
...
Long journeys are always boring.
Therefore, places like chess rooms and shipboard tea lounges became good places for many wealthy cultivators to pass the time.
Daytime.
In the chess room, at a small round table.
Wu Tao occupied a seat, with a cup of wine called "Red Lotus Fire" placed before him, and holding a black chess piece.
In this short period, by acting with purpose, he quickly integrated into the circle on the desert boat and formed his own small group.
"You lost!"
Wu Tao, holding a black piece to capture a dragon, looked at the young man opposite him and said, "Bai Li, you said you found news that would make Ye Yan lose face. Is that true?"
"Of course..."
"To find out about that detestable fellow, I spent three hundred spirit stones to bribe one of his servants."
Bai Li was the second son of the contemporary head of the Bai family, a medium-sized family in Qingzhou. He had a good personality, and apart from being a bit of a blabbermouth, he had no other significant flaws.
"Since you've heard the news, stop beating around the bush and tell us quickly..."
Ai Chen, who was watching the chess game nearby, had his eyes lit up.
He was the eldest son of an elder from Qiankun Sect, a large sect. The reason he was preparing to travel across states to Liangzhou was also to gain some experience.
Wu Tao's assessment of him was that as a drinking and feasting companion, apart from being a bit lecherous, he was otherwise quite good.
Another spectator, Gao Chang, also urged, "I'm also very curious about what unspeakable things that fellow Ye Yan has done?"
Gao Chang's father was an executive of one of the five major merchant guilds in the Jiuzhou immortal cultivation world, so his family was quite well-off.
He was eloquent, had a gentle personality, and many friends.
...
"Do you know why Ye Chen is abandoning his good life of leisure and traveling all the way from Qingzhou to Liangzhou?"
Bai Li looked expectantly at Wu Tao, Ai Chen, and Gao Chang, his face wearing an expression that screamed "ask me, ask me."
After exchanging glances, Wu Tao, Ai Chen, and Gao Chang smiled tacitly and shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.
...
"So it turns out Ye Chen was having an affair with a concubine of his father's household. Eventually, the truth could no longer be hidden, and his father, Ye Hongyuan, the contemporary head of the Ye family, a large immortal cultivation family, found out."
"Faced with widespread gossip within the family, Ye Hongyuan, in a fit of rage, banished him to Liangzhou to take charge of one of the Ye family's businesses there."
Bai Li said slowly, gloating.
"Oh, so Ye Chen's inheritance rights are also gone?"
Ai Chen exaggeratedly clutched his heart, "That's the inheritance right of the Ye family, a large immortal cultivation family. I feel sorry for him!"
On the other side, Gao Chang said with a cold sneer, "If that's the case, then that fellow Ye Chen can really brag."
"Isn't that so?"
"There are many young and beautiful young ladies on the desert boat who have been deceived by his sweet talk."
...
"I won, hurry up and give me the spirit stones, don't distract me."
Wu Tao was not particularly interested in this news and extended his hand towards Bai Li, signaling him to quickly hand over the spirit stones.
Bai Li was very straightforward and quickly gave the spirit stones to Wu Tao.
...